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Story of O
Look closely and you could no doubt spot a few superfluous gents at last night’s premiere of The Extra Man, a new film about a bookish young Manhattanite (Paul Dano) and the eccentric playwright (Kevin Kline) who schools him in the fine art of walking—that is, accompanying rich widows to dinner parties. They joined the likes of Doutzen Kroes (who brought her new baby bump), Cynthia Rowley (who brought her mother), and cast member Katie Holmes (who came without family) at the Village East Cinema, with most of the crowd heading over to the new double-decker Italian restaurant Vapiano for dinner afterward.
Even if Holmes (who plays Dano’s character’s half-hearted love interest) doesn’t have a whole lot to do in the film, she’s plenty busy up in Toronto these days, where she’s filming The Kennedys, a miniseries for the History Channel. Selected somewhat controversially for the role of Jackie Onassis, Holmes (who wore a striped Celine dress and Roger Vivier shoes to last night’s premiere) has been playing quite a bit of dress-up. “I wear a lot of wigs for Jackie,” she said. Seamstresses have been re-creating much of the iconic First Lady’s wardrobe for her, and Holmes told us that Armani even contributed two looks. “It’s really fun to wear these pieces from this time period that were so feminine,” she said. “You stand a little straighter. And you feel very much like a lady.”
Incidentally, the main twist of The Extra Man is that Dano’s young squire has a thing for cross-dressing. But last night, the actor insisted it hadn’t really rubbed off. “I still feel like a dude,” he said.
—Darrell Hartman Continue reading
The Rainmakers
“I honestly don’t know what to expect tonight,” Leigh Lezark said of her first Life Ball. That’s probably the right attitude. Where else can Bill Clinton rub elbows with Lady Fag, or Whoopi Goldberg vie with the boys of Paris’ Club Sandwich to flag down the same Champagne-bearing cater waiter?
The annual Viennese event has become a highlight of the global social calendar, not only for its anything-goes mentality but also for its commitment to philanthropy—the ball raises money to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic worldwide. So no surprise that Diane von Furstenberg, Francisco Costa, and Kenneth Cole all happily agreed to lend a hand and stage runway presentations—even if they all got rained out. But it takes more than a downpour to stop this party. Pink poncho-clad guests dashed into Vienna’s gorgeous city hall, where the party was going strong. (Lezark and her fellow MisShape Geordon Nicol were deejaying in the VIP section.) In any one of the satellite party rooms, you might run into Patti LaBelle, Estée Lauder group president John Demsey, or a local drag queen. And even if the rain did squelch the performances—LaBelle’s set was canceled, as was Dita Von Teese‘s scheduled presentation of a €100,000 check on behalf of Estée Lauder’s MAC Cosmetics to Bill Clinton, whose Clinton Foundation is one of this year’s beneficiaries—the mood didn’t flag. (And the foundation will still get the check, of course.) “This means a lot to me,” Von Teese said backstage, glittering in gold Elie Saab. “Being part of it is a huge honor.”
—Johnny Mischeff Continue reading
Dinner With Muckety-Mucks
“I had tears in my eyes!” exclaimed Doutzen Kroes at Chloé’s Hamptons pop-up this weekend. No, she wasn’t welling with motherly joy about her much publicized pregnancy—it was her native Holland’s crushing defeat in the World Cup. “I was there, in South Africa,” said the glowing super, now back in the U.S.A. to co-host the South Fork store’s opening bash. “It was so sad…I really thought Holland was going to win.” Well, better luck in 2014—and until then, there is that maternal bliss to look forward to. “I feel amazing,” she continued. “I’ve had no nauseousness, nothing. Now I’m getting a little bump, so I know I’m pregnant.” If she had one, you couldn’t see it—but perhaps she had her flowing Chloé dress to thank for that. Behind her, a crush of socials milled about, ogling items from Chloé’s main line and See by Chloé; East Hampton is the first standalone Chloé store in the U.S. to offer the secondary collection. According to chief executive Ralph Toledano, it won’t be the last.
After Chloé’s cocktail hour, it was time for dinner: Dinner for Schmucks, to be exact. The Cinema Society, Hugo Boss, and Vanity Fair were hosting an East End screening of the new comedy. Had star Paul Rudd had any real-life run-ins with lousy tablemates? Reflecting on a less-than-successful dinner party he’d once hosted, the actor was all comic self-deprecation: “I thought everybody was pretty cool, so if that’s the case, clearly it would make me a schmuck.” In his defense, sometimes a few good schmucks can liven up the mood. “Usually they’re the most fun dinner parties,” co-star Lucy Punch said of evenings spent opposite utter boors. “It makes for fun conversation afterwards.” Even the litigious can set down their swords for the duration of a meal. “We had a dinner party once where we invited two people who were in the process of suing each other,” recalled Reed Krakoff, his wife Delphine at his side. “We didn’t know it at the time. They were actually sitting across from each other.” No such hazardous seating at legendary adman Jerry Della Femina‘s beachside manse, where the assembled—including Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Christie Brinkley, and Katie Couric—adjourned following the film for partying and dinner. Sans schmucks, of course.
—Matthew Schneier Continue reading
What Lake Likes
—Sarah Howard Continue reading